"Race" in College Admissions FAQ & Discussion 5 - Page 41

Mamooie312 · 11-02-2009, 02:39 PM

Yeah, the whole definition thing is throwing me off too, so I am just saying "no" in order to avoid being rejected by the school for "lying".

Hunt · 11-02-2009, 03:54 PM

You can always mark "other" for ethnicity in general, and indicate that you are Brazilian.

Wiggle · 11-02-2009, 07:33 PM

My co-worker's wife is Brazilian....daughter of Indian parents who emigrated to Brazil in the '70s. She's lived her entire life in Brazil and is Brazilian. Her ethnic heritage is Indian. Happens in America all the time!

BaghDAD · 11-02-2009, 07:34 PM

The form for 2010 makes no such provision:

https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/DownloadForms.aspx

You say Brazilian, but I am assuming you are a US Citizen of Brazilian heritage? It is up to you what you claim as your ethnic heritage, insofar as some schools have limits on how they determine Native Americn status and other group status. usually if you can substantiate, it isn't a problem.

tokenadult · 11-02-2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

The problem is that the South America box says "excluding Brazil" in parenthesis.

That's because Brazil is not included in the list of places of origin that fit the current federal definition of "Hispanic." See the links from the first few posts in this FAQ thread (into which your question thread was merged) for official definitions. The college forms have changed this year because of a new federal regulation, and all the definitions have been the same for years.

tokenadult · 11-02-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunt

You can always mark "other" for ethnicity in general, and indicate that you are Brazilian.

That may have been true the last time your child looked at an application form, but it is not true this year. There isn't any "other" category on any college application form that follows the current federal regulations. See the first few posts in this thread for links to the regulation on college data gathering and other links to definitions of ethnicity and race categories.

Daniel591992 · 11-02-2009, 08:18 PM

But Brazil is a Latin American country...

Doesn't Latin America == Latino?

I'm a dual-citizen, so that could help me out. Also, I noticed that the "Other" button does exist and it lets you type in the ethnicity if you select it. So I'll just do that.

tokenadult · 11-02-2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Doesn't Latin America == Latino?

Not by the current federal definitions, which you can look up from the links way back at the beginning of this thread. (The main text of the definition of "Latino" is quoted in one of the first few FAQ posts.)

asheroth · 11-02-2009, 09:21 PM

i checked black and asian because i am both

Does this mean i'm considered white in admissions?

i'm confused. don't black and asian cancel each other out

vossron · 11-02-2009, 09:22 PM

I know it's not this simple, but it seems ironic that the descendants of the richer country, Spain, are deemed help-worthy, but those of the poorer country, Portugal, are not. But then Brazil is to Portugal as the U.S. is to the U.K.

tokenadult · 11-02-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

i checked black and asian because i am both

Does this mean i'm considered white in admissions?

No, it means you are considered both black and Asian. As for what that means about your admission chances, no one seems very sure about that, because colleges are much less than clear about how they use student ethnicity information in the admission process. Some may not regard ethnicity at all as an admission factor, but most colleges do, and no college that I am aware of makes clear just how much weight is put on that factor.

Good luck in your applications.

entomom · 11-02-2009, 11:33 PM

We have been wrestling with the Brazilian question on the Hispanic subforum as well. It is particularly difficult because the National Hispanic Recognition Program clearly includes Brazilians in their definition of Hispanic:

National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP)

Quote:

What is the NHRP’s definition of Hispanic/Latino?
To qualify for this program, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, and you may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, you must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela.

The NHRP is analogous to Nat Ach for AA students; though the program itself doesn't offer any scholarships, many schools have merit awards for NHRP scholars.

I recently saw an interesting article by the Pew Hispanic Center which discusses the question of Brazilians as Hispanics:

Who’s Hispanic? - Pew Hispanic Center

The article states that the OMB definition does not consider Brazilians as Hispanic:

Quote:

In 1976, the U.S. Congress passed the only law in this country's history that mandated the collection and analysis of data for a specific ethnic group: "Americans of Spanish origin or descent." The language of that legislation described this group as "Americans who identify themselves as being of Spanish-speaking background and trace their origin or descent from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America and other Spanish-speaking countries." Standards for collecting data on Hispanics were developed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1977 and revised in 1997.

But that the US Census uses a different definition that does if they self-identify:

Quote:

However, the Census Bureau does not apply this definition in counting Hispanics. Rather, it relies entirely on self-reporting and lets each person identify as Hispanic or not. The 2000 Census form asked the "Hispanic" question this way:

Is this person Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?
Mark (X) the "No" box if not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino.
__ No, not Spanish/Hispanic/ Latino
__ Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano
__ Yes, Puerto Rican
__ Yes, Cuban
__ Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino - Print group --> ____________

That question wording will be tweaked slightly in the 2010 Census, but the basic approach will be the same: People will be counted as Spanish/Hispanic/Latino if - and only if - that's what they say they are. These self-reports are not subject to any independent checks, corroborations or corrections.

If this weren't difficult enough, there's also the question of marking "American Indian or Alaska Native (including all Original Peoples of the Americas)" for students from countries like Mexico and Peru, with large mestizo populations.

Wowie · 11-03-2009, 10:58 PM

My father is Afro-Cuban/ Jamaican. He looks black, as well as I do. My mother is white, blonde hair blue eyes and part native American (no proof).

My dilemma is my teacher urges me to put down black and native american, but I feel isn't that somewhat lying if I'm in reality cuban? Do I mark yes to hispanic and then yes to black? I am in essence both.

Or can I mark no to hispanic and just yes to black or even leave the hispanic box blank?

What I'm trying to say is I want to be see a black woman on my applications, but I don't know if that is lying and how I should go about marking it.

Thanks.

Yurtle · 11-04-2009, 12:51 AM

You're hispanic. Many hispanic people are also black. I suppose you could mark both, but I wouldn't mark Native. I'm 1/4th native (or something) but my family member who was part native was illegit. (And thus we can't prove it...)

That one's pushing it, imho.

foolishpleasure · 11-04-2009, 11:19 AM

If your father is both Cuban and Jamaican, you can, and should, check Hispanic and Black(Carib). Rules regarding NA are strict - - if neither you nor your mom have tribal enrollment, you shouldn't identify as NA (b/c you'll look dishonest when the college asks for enrollment info that you cannot produce).